1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to switch assemblies and foldable portable electronic devices using the switch assembly, particularly to a magnetic switch assembly for opening and closing a cover of a foldable portable electronic device and the foldable portable electronic device using the switch assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the rapid and prosperous developments in communication technologies and the continuously upgraded living standards in the modern society, a mobile phone has become a very popular communication product among most consumers. These days, mobile phones provide an incredible array of functions, as well as a variety of the aesthetic appearances. Mobile phones can be classified into three or more types, such as bar type mobile phones, foldable type mobile phones, and slidable type mobile phones. Foldable type mobile phone is popular for its compact size and light weight as well as its large display area allowing more information to be displayed. A foldable mobile phone generally includes a cover section, a main body section, and a hinge assembly rotatably interconnecting the cover section to the main body section. The hinge assembly is configured for switching the mobile phone between an open position (namely, the cover section is flipped open from the main body section) and a closed position (namely, the cover section is overlaid on the main body section).
One kind of hinge assembly applied in a foldable mobile phone employs a cam and a follower, which allows the cover section to fold outwardly from the main body section and then stay in the open position. The hinge assembly typically includes a cam having a concave portion, a follower having a convex portion, a shaft having a fixing end, and a spring. The cam and the follower are placed around the shaft. The spring resists the follower to make the follower contact to the cam. The cam, the follower, the shaft and the spring are received in a housing. The cover section rotates about the main body of the mobile phone by overcoming the force of the spring, thus allowing the concave portion of the cam to rotate about the convex portion of the follower. However, a user must open a foldable mobile phone using both hands. This makes foldable mobile phone inconvenient to use in situations when the user has only one hand free.
In order to satisfy the desire for easily opening and closing a foldable mobile phone using one hand, foldable mobile phones incorporated with an automatic hinge assembly are provided. However, the automatic hinges used in the mobile phones tend to have a complicate structure, which, accordingly, makes manufacture process for producing the automatic hinge time consuming, and increase the cost of the production thereof.
Therefore, a switch assembly for opening and closing a cover section of a foldable portable electronic device and the foldable portable electronic device are desired in order to overcome the above-described problems.